« Open Letters: April 2006 | Main
January 16, 2008
Ducati Nerddom, Part II
If I come up with too many more of these posts, I may have to start a new category for all the geekery that is Ducati. Or at least that small portion of which that I find sufficiently interesting.
Roomie bought me this video for Xmas. Pretty fun stuff, but watching it one is reminded just how difficult it must be to try to hold the attention of a motorcyclist. The interviews with Ducati racers, and senior staff from design, marketing, race development (Ducati Corsa) are entertaining. The video zigs and zags through various topics. alternating between history, project design and development, racing, the "idea" of Ducati, etc. And then the cycle is repeated. Evidently, we want to hear the sounds and see the factory, but only when interrupted by many short scenes of sportbikes vrooming through Italian hills.
One of the highlights is Federico Minoli, the former Chair of Ducati, discussing how the "cool factor" is measured. They drive to the bike to a local bar (the bars in Italy are more like cafe's) for an aperitif, and if folks come streaming out to check it out, then it passes the test. They have a similar driveability test, where they ride the motorcycle over the hills to Modena (if I recall correctly), to see how it feels. From the marketing side of things, they admit that the typical Ducatista has a "Peter Pan Complex." While not exactly a revelation, it was interesting to hearing them acknowledge the fact in what is essentially a marketing film for the company. The assembly process is also reviewed with the American Director of Production leading a tour of the various operations at Borgo Panigale.
I was also impressed with how much the factory has been improved since I took a tour there in 1989. Also, they have opened up the factory to anyone during business hours. The average age of the workers on the floor is 27, and they are instructed to talk with fellow Ducatisti on the clock. This is a far cry from the treatment my departed friend Lawrence Gill received when he an Morinista Pam showed up the gate and were turned away in the mid-80's. Certainly, those were dark years for the factory.
On the downside, some of the music used is made to appeal to a younger generation than my own. Or perhaps to a deafer generation of my own. Around 45 minutes into the video it begins to grate.
The timing of the video's release was less than ideal, since Minoli and Terreblanche have both been sacked since, and also because the Ducati marque captured the 2007 World GP title with Stoner just after it was released. But taken as a whole, the video is a 60 minute love song to Ducati and a must-see during these long and bitterly cold winter months.